When you’re coming off four massively lucrative installments of one of the most successful cinematic series of all time, where do you go next? If you’re Harry Potter helmer David Yates, apparently, to the African jungle.

The filmmaker has just committed to Warner Bros.’ live-action Tarzan, one of several films in the works based on Edgar Rice Burroughs‘ character. And he’s wasting no time getting the pieces together, meeting with up-and-coming talents like Henry Cavill, Charlie Hunnam, Alexander Skarsgård, and Tom Hardy for the lead role. More details after the jump.

Please Recommend /Film on Facebook

UPDATE: A rep for Gary Ross has denied that the filmmaker is pursuing Warner Bros.’ Tarzan adaptation. Original story follows.

Could Edgar Rice Burroughs‘ Tarzan be the next classic tale to get several competing adaptations? Not only is a mo-capped 3D version featuring Kellan Lutz (The Twilight Saga) as the lord of the jungle coming together, but Warner Bros. has not one but two different variations on the story in the works. One is a potential trilogy that Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow) has been working on since last year, and now the other one from screenwriter Adam Cozad is moving forward as David Yates, Gary Ross, and Susanna White emerge as contenders for the directing gig. More details after the jump.

Briefly: How do you like your Tarzan? On the page? Maybe in old serial adventure form? Since I saw Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan as a kid, I’m still a bit partial to the serious live-action thing — the Batman Begins version of Tarzan — but maybe you like the Disney animated version. No matter what the answer is, I’m not sure how people will respond to a CG animated version in which Kellan Lutz (Twilight) will perform a mo-capped version of the old Edgar Rice Burroughs character.

There are some updates: Tarzan’s parents are killed in a plane crash, and ultimately the jungle-raised guy comes up against the new CEO of Greystoke Energies, an oh-so modern villain, who even has a mercenary army. Jane will likely be played by Spencer Locke (Resident Evil, Detention), and the character is the daughter of an African guide, and an avid conservationist.

Reinhard Klooss will direct; he wrote with Yoni Brenner and Jessica Postigo. Constantin Films, which produced the Resident Evil films and the recent The Three Musketeers, is making this one, so that should clue you in on what to expect. [THR]

After three movies set in the South – Hustle and Flow, Black Snake Moan and the upcoming Footloose – Craig Brewer is going somewhere even hotter for his next film. He’s going into the jungle. At least that’s the hope as he’s just signed a deal with Warner Bros. to write and direct a new take on the classic Edgar Rice Burroughs story Tarzan. Brewer’s take, though, isn’t just a one-shot deal, he has an idea that would be a three-story arc. Read More »

A new adaptation of Tarzan, the classic adventure story by Edgar Rice Burroughs, is swinging into action. (That’ll be the only vine pun, I promise.) The German outfit Constantin Films is prepping a 3D animated version of the story. Constantin recently bought rights to all the Burroughs Tarzan novels; one might guess that the first book, Tarzan of the Apes, will be the launching pad for this film.

Details are thin at this point; Robert Kulzer (Resident Evil: Afterlife and The Three Musketeers) is producing with Reinhard Klooss, and the adaptation is planned as an English-language film. There’s no writer or director yet, and given the fact that this is animation, we can at least guess that Kulzer’s current directorial partner Paul W.S. Anderson won’t be chosen to helm. So just consider this very advanced word that the Burroughs legacy is to be plundered once more. Sadly, it probably won’t look anything like the Frank Frazetta image above. [Variety]

Stuart Beattie is starting to promote G.I Joe: The Rise of Cobra, but he’s got a lot more projects to talk about. Beattie was recently announced as the writer/director who would adapt the Australian book series that begins with Tomorrow, When the War Began, and he’s got a Tarzan script and a Halo spec that he’s trying to get off the ground. SciFiWire parceled all the info from their interview over a series of articles (here, here and here), and we’ve collected it back together for you. Read More »

Parkour seems to be the new hot buzz word in Hollywood. It’s kinda like how all the story pitches last year tried to compare themselves to Children of Men (“It’s Die Hard meets Children of Men”).

Founded in France, the fast paced movement became the main focal point of the Luc Besson-produced 2004 action film District B13. English-speaking audiences will probably better recognize the technique from the opening chase sequence in Casino Royale. The movement has since found its way into other Hollywood films like Live Free or Die Hard and The Incredible Hulk and the video game Mirrors Edge. Parkour is key to the action sequences in Disney’s upcoming video game to film adaptation of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

And now hack directors are starting to adopt the buzz word. Van Hellsing director Stephen Sommers claims that his upcoming big screen re-imagining of Tarzan will incorporate the technique. According to Entertainment Weekly, the new Tarzan will be more like Pirates of the Caribbean, “with buffed-and-tanned actors flying through the jungle and sprinting up trees, parkour-style.” Wow, yeah, I have no faith in Sommers.

If you want to see a cool Parkour sequence, watch David Belle’s chase scene from District B13 after the jump.Read More »

Hack director Stephen Sommers is replacing Guillermo del Toro to direct a live action adaptation of Tarzan for Warner Bros. THR reports that Stuart Beattie will co-write the project with Sommers. del Toro has been attached to the project since it was announced two years ago, but his commitment to The Hobbit has put him out of the running.

Normally if Sommers were to replace del Toro on a film project, I would be up in arms. But the story of Tarzan has never really interested me. And I’m glad Sommers will be confined to a movie I don’t care if he ruins while del Toro’s talents will be better suited to a film I do care about. Sommers, who is responsible for The Mummy films, The Scorpion King and the horrible Van Helsing, is taking a completely new take on the property, rather than adapt from the original book or previous films. Beatie worked with Sommers on G.I. Joe, which explains a lot… or nothing.